Stylistic editing goes beyond simple copyediting. It involves looking at information flow, re-structuring sentences and paragraphs for clarity, smoothing out transitions, and similar improvements. This is a great option for authors who believe they have a story or message to tell but are not confident in their style.

Here is a made-up1 sample.

Before:Billy Bob drew a gun and pointed it at Erika. She freaked and hid behind TV. Martin yelled, "That won't work!" because TVs aren't big enough. But it was the only thing close to her. "Don't do it, Billy!" he yelled. Billy Bob shot him instead. The nurse told him to keep his head still. He disregarded her concerns and got out of bed, impatient. She bandaged him, wrapping the thick gauze around and around his head, even though the bullet had just grazed one side, hardly a scratch. After:Billy Bob drew a gun, pointing it at Erika. She freaked out and scrambled behind the nearest piece of furniture—the TV. "That won't work!" Martin yelled at her, knowing the bulk of the TV wasn't enough to shield her from a bullet. "Don't do it, Billy!" he called out next. At the sound of this, Billy Bob turned to Martin and shot him instead.Some time later, Martin awoke in a hospital. A nurse was wrapping a thick gauze around and around his head. She told him that he was lucky; the bullet had only grazed the side of his head; he had hardly more than a scratch. When he heard this, he moved to stand up. The nurse, still wrapping the gauze, told him to keep his head still. Impatient with the fuss over what she called a scratch, he ignored her and got out of the bed.

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1. If anyone out there would like to provide me with a sample of bad writing that I can publish on this website, to show a better before/after picture of what stylistic editing looks like, I would be grateful.